Solar panel and stuff

[AmeyaVS]

6kw is huge. What appliances do you run and can the system do them 24*7? Can you share some pics of your setup?
I don't know if you'll have heard of it but I really like Jackery ones.

I think @anmolbhard004 6KW system is an on-grid system, please correct me if I am wrong.
It will only generate power during the day, but during night the power has to be taken from the grid.
I think the system you are looking for is an off-grid or a hybrid solar power setup.

 

[kartikoli]

got it installed last june costed about 3.3 L for 6kw plant this is after subisdy.
the cost would be covered in 4-5 years for me.
now for bills I used to get monthly bills of rs 3000-4000/month now its reduced to 700-1000
usage is just for my home.

currently its generating 30-32 units daily

Can you use AC on your setup? Taking about normal AC's say 1.5T Inverter AC also it seems you don't have much power consumption during night hours but can you comment on the working hours of these panels like power generation starts at 8 am to 5 pm that will give an idea of how much time it is in offline mode.

 

[anmolbhard004]

What would the cost be if you didn't get the subsidy?

4.5-4.6L

6kw is huge. What appliances do you run and can the system do them 24*7? Can you share some pics of your setup?
I don't know if you'll have heard of it but I really like Jackery ones.

no this is a ongrid system only works during day and you have to take electricity from grid at night/

I think @anmolbhard004 6KW system is an on-grid system, please correct me if I am wrong.
It will only generate power during the day, but during night the power has to be taken from the grid.
I think the system you are looking for is an off-grid or a hybrid solar power setup.

yes its a ongrid but I dont think hybrid ones are justified in India right now.

Can you use AC on your setup? Taking about normal AC's say 1.5T Inverter AC also it seems you don't have much power consumption during night hours but can you comment on the working hours of these panels like power generation starts at 8 am to 5 pm that will give an idea of how much time it is in offline mode.

I dont use any electricity from solar all goes to grid passing through my net meter installed by discom.
Power generation starts at 6am and continues till 5:30 pm here in patna.


Now for billing how is all calculated-

Bihar has the largest number of smart prepaid meters installed [ no state is even close to this]

Ours is a 3 phase meter by L&T
It measures exports and imports of the electricity used.

For example
Last Month SOLAR GENERATION was 600 Units but my consumption from grid was 800 Units so when the bill is generated the 600 would get deducted from 800 and I would only pay for 200 units.

till now I have not generated a surplus amount of electricity.

will be upgrading this 6kw system to 10 kw soon by adding one more inverter of 3 kw capacity and 8 panels.

 

[lockhrt999]

Just to give an idea about ongoing price per kw. It's around 53k per kw including everything, that's like nothing else to be paid out of pocket apart from this.

I have been reading that the setup gets cheaper without subsidies (so mostly going off grid?). It's not my opinion or study, but I that's what people been saying on other forums (like Desidime).

It costs 16k to 20k per KW for panels (extra for inverter). And, they say, this is the cost for relatively high-quality panels which come with 20–25 years of warranty instead of 5-year warranty panels which you get with subsidies.

I guess corruption is high with solar subsidies and keeping prices locked and giving less choice in brands to choose from. (as opposed to, let free market decide the price)

It's around 53k per kw including everything,

In 2017-18, you could get 1kw solar at 50k without any subsidies. Now, you are getting paying that much with subsidies. Cheers!

 

[kartikoli]

I have been reading that the setup gets cheaper without subsidies (so mostly going off grid?). It's not my opinion or study, but I that's what people been saying on other forums (like Desidime).

It costs 16k to 20k per KW for panels (extra for inverter). And, they say, this is the cost for relatively high-quality panels which come with 20–25 years of warranty instead of 5-year warranty panels which you get with subsidies.

I guess corruption is high with solar subsidies and keeping prices locked and giving less choice in brands to choose from. (as opposed to, let free market decide the price)


In 2017-18, you could get 1kw solar at 50k without any subsidies. Now, you are getting paying that much with subsidies. Cheers!

In my opinion we should opt for on grid setup and try to reduce the power bill marginally rather than completely replacing them, If we invest high amount and the ROI is not recovered in 5~6 years its a loss because we can expect fresh investment in batteries after that many years. The wise decision would be to invest the amount that can be recovered in say 5~6 years without further investments. OR use the method what @anmolbhard004 has opted for. Secondly the technology is changing rapidly what if Lithium Batteries become affordable in next 5yrs.

 

[anmolbhard004]

I have been reading that the setup gets cheaper without subsidies (so mostly going off grid?). It's not my opinion or study, but I that's what people been saying on other forums (like Desidime).

It costs 16k to 20k per KW for panels (extra for inverter). And, they say, this is the cost for relatively high-quality panels which come with 20–25 years of warranty instead of 5-year warranty panels which you get with subsidies.

I guess corruption is high with solar subsidies and keeping prices locked and giving less choice in brands to choose from. (as opposed to, let free market decide the price)


In 2017-18, you could get 1kw solar at 50k without any subsidies. Now, you are getting paying that much with subsidies. Cheers!

all panels that come under subsidies offer 25 year warranty, it purely depends on your vendor. Bihar has approx 45 vendors for solar all will quote the same rate just +-10K
you need to tell the vendor what you want.
no panel has got 5 year warranty .

 

[nitin_g3]

In 2017-18, you could get 1kw solar at 50k without any subsidies. Now, you are getting paying that much with subsidies. Cheers!

53k per kw is without subsidies.
I paid 2.65L for a 5 kw setup (everything inclusive) and will get 90k 78k subsidy (as per the newly introduced PM solar Ghar yojna 18k per kw max upto 5kw 78k flat for anything above 3kw).
So the entire setup will cost 2.65l - 90k 78k
= 1.75L 1.87L

That brings the per kw cost to 35k 37.4k per kw all inclusive with subsidy.

What's more:

1. Panels are bifacial from Adani power with 30 years warranty. 9 panels of 540w each.(I know it's not total of 5kw but somewhere around 4.8kw.)
2. Inverter is from K Solar (new company) and comes with 8 years warranty.
3. Structure was with solid 60mm Square GI pipe.
4. 2 earthing rods of 9 feet each.

This setup generated 850 units of electricity last month. After April month's start I've noticed daily units generation averaging around 28.5 units per day. Sometimes it even goes to 31 units a day when there are no clouds.


The state is Rajasthan, but the new PM subsidy is applicable nation wide.

Edit: Correction in subsidy amount

 

[anmolbhard004]

53k per kw is without subsidies.
I paid 2.65L for a 5 kw setup (everything inclusive) and will get 90k subsidy (as per the newly introduced PM solar Ghar yojna 18k per kw max upto 5kw).
So the entire setup will cost 2.65l -90k
= 1.75L

That brings the per kw cost to 35k per kw all inclusive.

What's more:

1. Panels are bifacial from Adani power with 30 years warranty. 9 panels of 540w each.(I know it's not total of 5kw but somewhere around 4.8kw.)
2. Inverter is from K Solar (new company) and comes with 8 years warranty.
3. Structure was with solid 60mm Square GI pipe.
4. 2 earthing rods of 9 feet each.

This setup generated 850 units of electricity last month. After April month's start I've noticed daily units generation averaging around 28.5 units per day. Sometimes it even goes to 31 units a day when there are no clouds.


The state is Rajasthan, but the new PM subsidy is applicable nation wide.

did you get the surface whitewashed below the panels? or anything?
am planning to get the adani bifacials one for expansion

 

[nitin_g3]

did you get the surface whitewashed below the panels? or anything?
am planning to get the adani bifacials one for expansion

I did, I got a coating of sun reflect/ waterproofing paint. But can't comment on efficiency increase since I got that done as soon as Panels were installed.
I suggest to go with it if opting for bifacial panels, and it's also not much expensive (costed me around 4k with labour for a 400 Sq feet area.)

am planning to get the adani bifacials one for expansion

I suggest Going for a 3kw extension is best bang for buck right now. Will cost you around 27k per kw considering price of 53k per kw in current market.

 

[anmolbhard004]

I did, I got a coating of sun reflect/ waterproofing paint. But can't comment on efficiency increase since I got that done as soon as Panels were installed.
I suggest to go with it if opting for bifacial panels, and it's also not much expensive (costed me around 4k with labour for a 400 Sq feet area.)

I suggest Going for a 3kw extension is best bang for buck right now. Will cost you around 27k per kw considering price of 53k per kw in current market.

the vendor I am talking has quoted me 1.65 FOR 3 KW will be getting 54 k subsidy so cost comes to 1.1L

but the problem here is I have to take another electricity connection to avail subsidy as I already availed once on this.
then the added chaos of rewiring everything.

 

[nitin_g3]

the vendor I am talking has quoted me 1.65 FOR 3 KW will be getting 54 k subsidy so cost comes to 1.1L

Correction for subsidy, it's flat 78k for anything above 3kw. So decide based on that

 

[lockhrt999]

53k per kw is without subsidies.
...
That brings the per kw cost to 35k 37.4k per kw all inclusive with subsidy.

Oh. I assumed it as 53k/kw with subsidies. 37k/kw net is a good deal.

Now, I must bore you with more questions.
1. Do new on grid systems / inverters have provision for battery backup when power goes off?

This setup generated 850 units of electricity last month.

Wow, that's a lot. They must be paying you back now.

2. Is the return unit rate capped to the base rate, no matter how many negative unites you have?
3. The net metering is billed month to month, right? You can't have a surplus of negative unites to compensate for your positive use in Monsoon, correct?
4. And, how long did it take for them to install the net-meter?

 

[nitin_g3]

1. Do new on grid systems / inverters have provision for battery backup when power goes off?

No, but you can add an inverter like you normally do which will give power when there is a power cut.

2. Is the return unit rate capped to the base rate, no matter how many negative unites you have?

Govt will pay rupees 2.5 per unit for any surplus, which gets adjusted into next months bill. Final adjustments and payments are done at the end of the year.

3. The net metering is billed month to month, right? You can't have a surplus of negative unites to compensate for your positive use in Monsoon, correct?

No, all earned units lapse at months end and they adjust them in the bill of next month with 1 unit = 2.5 rupees. To answer your question, you will never have a surplus amount of electricity units which you can utilize in next month, only some amount with rate of 2.5 per unit.

4. And, how long did it take for them to install the net-meter?

1 week if I remember correctly.

 

[anmolbhard004]

No, but you can add an inverter like you normally do which will give power when there is a power cut.

Govt will pay rupees 2.5 per unit for any surplus, which gets adjusted into next months bill. Final adjustments and payments are done at the end of the year.

No, all earned units lapse at months end and they adjust them in the bill of next month with 1 unit = 2.5 rupees. To answer your question, you will never have a surplus amount of electricity units which you can utilize in next month, only some amount with rate of 2.5 per unit.

1 week if I remember correctly.

thats bad here we get paid for every unit I send to grid, i.e 8 rs /unit

and in bihar if we have surplus amount they will adjust in next month bill [ if 40 units were extra , they will be deducted next month + that months generation]

check the below photos it shows previous month remaining 0 as there was no surplus amount.
the real problem is that many states discoms sucks, dont know why they don't pay the actual rates its not like we are generating some sub standard electricity or something like that.
it varies state to state

 

[sauravghosh]

If I burn about 350 units for 4 months of summer, 250 for another 4, and between 150 to 200 for the rest, whether a 2 kw solar setup be enough?

 

[chyawanprash]

dont know why they don't pay the actual rates its not like we are generating some sub standard electricity or something like that.

From a grid's POV, electricity being fed from home solar panels will always be of substandard quality. The whole process of converting and integrating solar power can introduce differences in quality (minor phase differences, spikes, fluctuations etc). High quality inverters can minimize these differences though. Home based systems cannot ramp up power generation, cannot provide backup during night. Faulty inverters can energize the line during grid failure - so the repairmen need to take extra precaution. The overheads associated with handling this electricity, along with quality and reliability issues, collectively make it substandard.

 

[anmolbhard004]

If I burn about 350 units for 4 months of summer, 250 for another 4, and between 150 to 200 for the rest, whether a 2 kw solar setup be enough?

yes more than enough

 

[nitin_g3]

thats bad here we get paid for every unit I send to grid, i.e 8 rs /unit

Great! I forgot that it depends on discom. Maybe it has something to do with Rajasthan having most solar generation capabilities in India.
I wish it was like you here also, I would have almost zero bill considering electricity generated during winters.